Our Grandmother, an Avid Reader

Our maternal grandmother was a great person for many reasons. (Our paternal grandmother was, too, but we'll save that for another time.) She was happy despite the pain that arthritis caused her. She made jokes and got people to laugh at them and the stories that she told. She cared about her grandchildren. She was generous. I loved her very much.

One of our grandmother's wonderful traits... she was an avid reader. She loved all kinds of books. She devoured books quickly. She was always reading. The librarians in her hometown knew her pretty well.

I love that my grandmother loved to read. I like to think that part of the reason that I enjoy both reading and writing is because of her. Whenever we would go to her house when I was young, she would always have her books sitting around.

There was a period of time when we would go to my grandma's house to clean on a weekly basis. Those cleaning visits were not complete until someone had given my grandma a ride to the library so that she could stock up on books.

My grandma didn't have the best vision in her later years so she would read large print books. That cut down on the number of options open to her. She would pick up anything and everything when we were at the library, simply eager to read.

I remember one time when we took my grandma to a library other than her hometown one. This one had multiple floors and new book options for her. I carried her books around for her, and she kept adding to the stack in my arms. By the time we got down to the main floor and I deposited those books onto the counter to be checked out, my muscles were sore and my arms were shaking.

My grandmother passed away eight months before Bethany and I received our contract for our debut novel. I wish that she would have had the chance to know that we were going to be published. I wish that we would have been able to share No Longer Broken with her. I know that she would have been proud of us.

I am so thankful for the wonderful woman that my grandmother was, and the time that I got to spend with her. I am thankful for her love of reading, and the fact that I have inherited that.

By Emily Acker, co-author of No Longer Broken